A: Growing up I was a big Tigers fan. My favorite player for the Tigers was Cecil Fielder at the time. I remember him hitting some pretty far home runs at old Tiger Stadium growing up. That really caught my attention at a young age.

Q: You made the Opening Day roster as a long reliever, but quickly moved into the starting rotation when Dustin Moseley was injured. I know you felt for Dustin, but what was that like for you?

A: It’s very flattering. A goal out of spring training was to make the Opening Day roster and when that happened, I was very grateful to be here. All of a sudden the unfortunate news with Dustin’s injury went down, and I knew this was kind of my opportunity to go into the rotation and shine. Dustin was really open about it when he got hurt, he said, “If you have any questions, Anthony, come to me. Feel free to ask me any questions. I’m here to help you.” It was really nice to hear that, coming from a teammate, especially after hearing the bad news of the injury. That’s the kind of people we have on this team, the kind of teammates that we have.

Q: Working as a reliever, working as a starting pitcher — which do you prefer?

A: I like starting.

Q: I’ve never met a pitcher who says he doesn’t. Is there anything you take from your time in the bullpen, though, that you use when you start?

A: Yeah, I do. I try not to change my mentality too much from the bullpen. I had an attack mentality going out there, throwing a lot of strikes, and using my defense. You gotta go out there and throw strikes and get your team back in the dugout, to hit.

Q: Pitch efficiency, fastball command are some of the things you’ve been working on. How big of an adjustment has it been, in terms of what works in the minors vs. what works in the majors?

A: At the minor league level, you can get away with making a few mistakes. At the major league level, you’re going to pay for it.

Q: Your first major league hit produced three runs. Was it a relief to get that?

A: Yeah, it was a big situation. Two outs, bases loaded, facing one of the best pitchers in the game, Josh Johnson. It was a big point in the game. We were down, didn’t have the greatest first inning, and to show them that I’m still going to battle out there and compete — I think the fans saw that, and that was probably the most gratifying thing for me.

Q: What’s your earliest baseball memory?

A: Probably Little League. When I was about 7 years old. I remember my mom was throwing to me. You didn’t see too many moms as coaches in the day. They were mainly dads. But my mom was my first pitcher in Little League and I still remember that.

Q: Does she ever pitch to you anymore? Let you take a few swings in the backyard?

A: I ask her. I tell her, “I just wanna play catch with you one more time,” and she keeps making excuses, so I’m still waiting for that day.

Q: One thing on your bucket list?

A: I want to go in a shark cage. I want to see the Great Whites face-to-face.